Number of Democrats Grows By 8,000 In 6th District

FRANKFORT, Ky. -- Kentucky's 6th Congressional District has added more than 8,000 new Democratic voters over the past two years while losing nearly 4,000 Republicans, a shift that would appear to favor Democratic U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler in his re-election bid against GOP challenger Andy Barr.

The State Board of Elections released updated registration statistics Wednesday showing 292,805 Democrats registered to vote in the 6th District. That's up from 284,524 Democrats in 2010 when Chandler first faced Barr.

Meanwhile, Republican registrations fell from 170,678 to 166,788 over the past two years. The change is largely due to a redistricting plan approved by the state legislature earlier this year.

Democrats now hold a 126,000-voter edge over Republicans in the district.

Chandler and Barr are facing off in Kentucky's most competitive congressional race.